Worlds Apart
by Aoife Calder
Summary: The youngest member of the Organization is stolen away in the middle of the night, supposedly never to be heard from again. But when a certain gunblade-wielding brunette finds her, all alone, what does he do? Will Alexis ever return to the Organization? And will the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee members ever accept her, even though she is a Nobody?
1. Prologue: Stolen Away

A tall silent figure carefully made its way through the halls of Castle Oblivion, not wanting to be discovered at so late an hour. The figure was shaped like a human, wore clothes like a human, yet did not seem to be human at all. Something about the figure revealed that it was not exactly a human… and the deed it was about to perform was, in fact, completely heartless. In its hands, the mysterious figure carried nothing except some rope and a medium-sized sack. Its feet made no noise on the cold, hard ground, and its breathing was barely audible.

Upon reaching its destination, the figure stopped, but only for a short while. Silently it reached out and slowly wrapped its fingers around the white doorknob, then carefully turned it, entering the room of the eighth member of the Organization. The figure quietly stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him, taking in all of his surroundings. There was no sound in the room but the breathing of two Nobodies… Axel and his young ward, Alexis.

Several months ago, Axel had found Alexis inside the Castle, collapsed on the ground due to exhaustion. The Organization had found out that Alexis was only four years old when her other half, Leisa, was turned into a Nobody. How someone so young had turned into a Nobody and not a Heartless was beyond Organization XIII, but nonetheless they decided to keep watch over the child. The younger members of the Organization - Axel, Demyx, and Roxas - had grown extremely fond of her and treated her like family, always keeping an attentive eye on her to make sure she didn't get into trouble. Of course, since she was so young, the Organization prohibited her from taking part in the tasks the older members did, but still considered her a part of the group.

The mysterious stranger stepped away from the door and sauntered over to where Alexis slept, moving as silently as a ghost. His shadow loomed over her like a blanket of darkness, overwhelming her and making her seem smaller than she already was. The figure remained frozen in its current position, standing above Alexis as if in anticipation of a significant event. He hesitated, and then let out a heavy sigh, allowing some of the moonlight streaming in through Axel's window to shine on his solemn face, temporarily revealing who he was.

It was Xemnas.

In all honesty, Xemnas did not really want to do what he was about to do, but he felt as if Alexis were hurting Organization XIII somehow. He wasn't certain if it was because he felt she were making the others soft (she was closer to some members more than others, but still got along well with everyone), or if he was afraid she would accidentally see something traumatizing, or if despite what he told himself, he actually had no sympathy for Alexis and just flat out wanted her gone. Whatever the reason, Xemnas was determined to get rid of her without the other members of the Organization knowing.

Using the rope he had, Xemnas bound Alexis' wrists and ankles and tied a handkerchief around her mouth, immobilizing her and disallowing her from yelling for help, should she wake up before the deed was finished. Holding the sack in one hand, the leader of the Organization picked up Alexis by the collar of her cloak and carefully placed her inside the burlap sack, then tied off the top tightly. He gently slung the weighted sack over his shoulder and turned to leave, but stopped when he heard a noise behind him. Xemnas peered over his shoulder, his eyes growing wide when Axel muttered "Thief", but once he realized that Axel was still asleep, he continued on his way out of Axel's room. Xemnas slipped out of the castle quietly, not stopping until he was safely outside its walls.

Once outside of Castle Oblivion, Xemnas walked a little ways from the entrance and opened a portal. He risked a glance behind him, then adjusted the bundle over his shoulder and stepped through the dark foreboding space in front of him. He appeared in the outskirts of Hollow Bastion, on a dangerous cliff overlooking the badly damaged castle that was surrounded by thousands of Heartless. Xemnas simply stood and stared for a long time, not wanting to do what he had been telling himself to do for awhile now, but also unable to return to the castle with Alexis still in hand.

Finally, after several minutes of internal conflict, Xemnas slowly moved the burlap sack from over his shoulder to the ground at his feet. He glared at the small, pitiful bundle as it inflated and deflated slightly with every breath Alexis took. Before Xemnas could change his mind about what he had done, he whispered these words to the sleeping child, although he knew she could not hear them.

"I'm sorry, Alexis. I truly am. But this is for your own good. And quite possibly, the good of the Organization."

With that, Xemnas turned on his heel, took a few steps forward, summoned another portal, and went back to Castle Oblivion.

All was silent in the Dark Depths.


	2. A Strange Place

Alexis slowly struggled to awake from a deep and dreamless sleep, sensing that the morning had come. She tried to open her eyes and yawn, but for some reason she could not. Oddly enough her hands remained firmly behind her, and when she attempted to separate them so she could touch her face to see what was wrong with her mouth and eyes, she could not even get her hands apart! In fact, the more Alexis tried to move, the more restricted she felt, and the more she realized that she was not in her bad at the Castle Oblivion. But if she was not at home in bed, then where was she?

The child kicked and moved her arms, trying to free herself from whatever was holding her, but instead of gaining freedom, Alexis discovered that she was inside something… but what?

"_What's happened? Where am I? How could this have happened to me, and who did it? I can't get out of here by myself! Where is Axel? And Demyx? I need them to help me!"_

As Alexis' mind became more clear and her senses less numb, she could tell that she was tied down in every way possible. She was bound by her ankles and wrists, blindfolded and gagged, and she was in a burlap sack (she could feel the material with her cheek, since her hands were gloved). When she realized she was bound, gagged, and sacked, her initial thought was who had done it.

"_Was it __Saïx? Or Xaldin? Or maybe even Xigbar? I always suspected they didn't like me… Oh, I just hope that it wasn't Axel. He's like a brother to me. I'd be heartbroken if I found out that he was the one who tied me up like this… But is it even possible for me to feel that way? I don't even have a heart! How can I - ? Forget it, I've got bigger problems. I've gotta figure out a way to get out of here! Where am I, anyway…?"_

Alexis stopped struggling and became aware that the ground beneath her was cold and hard. It obviously wasn't her bed, but it wasn't the floor of the castle, either. Even though Alexis couldn't see, she could somehow tell she wasn't inside the castle. Something about the atmosphere told her she was no longer within the walls of the Castle of Oblivion, but she didn't know exactly how she knew that. Suddenly an idea came to Alexis.

"_Wait, I've got it. If I sit still and listen, I'm sure something will give me a clue as to where I am. A sound, a smell, anything," _Alexis thought.

The youngest member of Organization XIII completely relaxed her small body, listening and waiting for a hint of any kind.

The first thing Alexis sensed was that she was in an open area and that she was outside. She suspected the ground to be made of rock, but how a naturally occurring rock could be so smooth and level was a mystery to her. A strong wind rushed by Alexis's location, making a low whistle in the cracks and crevices it passed. An echo sounded from far off, and that told Alexis she was in, on, or near a mountain of some sort. That meant that the ground beneath her had to be connected to the mountain in some way.

"_Okay, so I'm outside… in an open area, near a mountain… maybe even on it, but… where exactly in the world am I?_

Alexis remembered Axel showing her some maps of the worlds the Organization frequented, and tried to think if there was one with mountains or any other sort of rocky outcroppings. It seemed harder to think when she was tied up.

"_Let's see, there was the… Land of Dragons, but the only mountain on that world was blanketed with snow, so I would have immediately known if I was there. Ummm… Agrabah, no, the Pride Lands, no… I doubt if I'm in the Underworld… I imagine I would've heard spooky noises if I was down there… So where could I be?"_

Suddenly it hit her, and it nearly scared her half to death.

"_Oh I know! Hollow Bastion! I must be in Hollow Bastion on that cliff! If I fall, I'm doomed! But I can't tell how close I am to the edge! What do I do? What do I do?!"_

Panicked and grief-stricken, Alexis struggled harder than ever to free herself from the ropes that restrained her. She turned and twisted in every direction she could, but it was difficult to do so because of the sack, which was just barely able to engulf her entire body. After several minutes, Alexis's body went slack. She had exhausted herself without making any progress, disheartening her completely. She racked her brain in an effort to figure out a way to contact Axel or Demyx or somebody, but could think of nothing. She was much too frightened to think.

"_Wait! What about a portal? If I just open one up, maybe someone will sense it and come looking for its source. Yes! That could work!"_

Alexis concentrated hard and attempted to open a portal somewhere near her location, creating a way for someone to find her more easily. Suddenly the child recalled a fact that was fairly significant.

"_Oh no! I can't make portals! Xemnas said since I wasn't allowed to go anywhere unless I was with somebody, there was no point in me having the ability to create portals! What can I do now?"_

Despite the cloth covering her eyes, Alexis managed to squeeze a few tears out from behind the material. The small bundle on the cliff occasionally twitched with the sobs wracking Alexis's body. She could think of nothing else to do except wait until someone found her, and who knew how long that would take. Eventually, Alexis fell back asleep, waiting for a member of Organization XIII to return her home.

_Alexis ran as fast as she could, ignoring the temptation to look behind her. She was in the Ravine Trail, eluding a member of the Organization she had suspected never liked her. She stopped in the Crystal Fissure, doubling over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air. She could no longer see Saïx behind her, but she knew she was not entirely out of danger. After a few short minutes, Alexis just so happened to glance at the wall of crystals to her left, and what she saw shocked her._

_Saïx_ _was standing directly behind her._

_Alexis stood up straight so quickly and turned so fast that it made the bones in her back crack. She stared in horror at the stoic face glaring down at her, slowly backing away from the tall, dark figure. She immediately turned back around and began running again, not wanting to face __Saïx's wrath. All the while she knew it was pointless to run; Saïx was taller, faster, and stronger, and he had the ability to create portals whenever he wanted. Alexis just didn't want to be near him. She had to elude him until Axel found her. Then and only then would she be safe._

_Heartless and Nobodies alike stepped aside for the fleeing child once she was inside the Great Maw. Whether or not they knew she was in danger Alexis did not know; she was simply glad they were sensible enough to move from the main path. She looked over her shoulder to see if __Saïx was still there. He was not behind Alexis, which instead of reassuring her, it worried her, for if he was nowhere then he could be anywhere. However, Alexis did not stop running in the direction she was already going, which turned out to be a big mistake._

_Immediately upon entering the Dark Depths, Alexis was seized by the throat and lifted off the ground. As she struggled to loose the hands from around her neck, Alexis stared wide-eyed in shock at the angry face glaring back at her._ _It was Saïx, and Alexis was powerless to stop him. Saïx, without saying a word, slowly turned around and began walking towards the cliff's edge. Alexis still fought to get away from Saïx although she knew she had absolutely no chance of doing so. She couldn't speak, she couldn't scream… all she could do was kick and flail and hope for the best. But nothing was working._

_The seventh member of the Organization didn't stop moving until he was standing at the very edge of the cliff, still holding Alexis tightly in his grasp. He said nothing as the child continued to struggle in vain, not wanting to open her eyes for fear of what she might see. Eventually, she did manage to open her eyes, and what she saw - rather, what she didn't see - terrified the poor girl half to death._

_Saïx was holding her over the edge of the cliff._

_Alexis never remembered being more scared in her entire life. She kicked and tugged on Saïx's hands and tried to scream, but nothing helped. She looked directly into Saïx's dark eyes and saw nothing except utter contempt for the child he held firmly in his clenched fingers. Alexis opened her mouth and said only one thing, trying to convince him to let her go._

"_Saïx…"_

_Despite using the most pitiful and pathetic voice she could muster, Saïx did not change his mind. As soon as Alexis had spoken her final words, the Organization's seventh member opened his hand and let Alexis fall. Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl as Alexis fell and screamed._

"_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

Jolting and kicking as if she had just been electrocuted, Alexis stirred up a miniature storm inside the burlap sack she was still enclosed in. She let out several little screams as she panicked; the gag only let her make so much noise; and she bruised herself quite badly without even noticing it. The youngest member of the Organization was so terrified she didn't know what was going on or where she was, she was only focused on getting away from Saïx and avoiding a terrible fate. Finally, after hitting her head on the ground, Alexis came to her senses and realized that what she had just "went through" was a nightmare… but she was still tied up.

Alexis released a heavy sigh and lay on her side, wondering how it had come to this. What had she done to deserve this kind of treatment? She always listened whenever someone told her to do something, she never left a mess without cleaning it up first, she was always quiet whenever anyone requested it of her… so where had she messed up?

"_I know I'm young, but that doesn't mean I should be treated like I'm nothing. Where is Axel? And Demyx? How come they haven't found me yet?"_

The more Alexis thought about her predicament, the more hopeless and alone she felt, and despite supposedly not having a heart, the situation was too much for her to bear, and she began to weep. The cloth around her eyes absorbed most of her tears, but the gag almost wasn't enough to muffle her cries. All Alexis could do was sit and wait, hoping and praying that someone would come looking for her. The sack she was inside jerked with each sob, and even that was barely noticeable.

Little did Alexis know, but when she had been tossing and turning during her nightmare, she had moved herself from the middle of the cliff… to the very edge of it. If help did not come soon, then she was not going to last very much longer.


End file.
